I think I posted this before, but it's pretty funny so I wanted to post it again. I've had this problem many times before. lol!

Al, Congratulations on Unclehood! You deserve a niece who will charm you no end! ;-)

See ya in Oakland in a few days!

Thank you so much Joe!!!

rigt now I'm waiting for you to come on stage!

Michelle-LOL!.....Thanks for sharing....I had not seen that one before.

Congratulations to Uncle Al !!!

We had a birthday party for our son today.He turned 19 years yesterday......lotsa family came.... we ate Pizza & Dairy Queen Icecream cake... played goofy games with the grandkids.. TODAY was a very good day. :-)

Kayla - Come on spill the beans!!! Whoa to go. Seeing our Joe.

Its our turn for a tour Joe!!

Oh my GOSH!!! Where to start!

I get to the venue about 2-230 ish, it was FREEEEZING outside, Since Micheal and I had talked a few times (thats the manager of the venue) he knew who I was and let me into the building, even though there was already a couple people out there, my and my friend I took were the only ones let in (I felt bad cause it was soooo cold). Got to hear sound check, that was super cool. First person I see was Jeffy- I didnt get to get a picture though and was really bumed, but I saw him and my face lit up and I just said "Hi Jeff" with a HUGE smile on my face and he said hi back and talked for just a quick sec, Then it was Mick Brigden, He is SUCH A COOL GUY! We talked and I got some pictures, Then was the MEET AND GREET, Joe came out and my heart RACED, I have never felt it race so fast, We went straight to questions, I introduced myself asked my question, few other people went then I was trying to ask another and FORGOT!!! (how embarrasing). After the questions we had the pictures, and I ACTUALLY GOT TO TALK TO AND HUG JOE. That was an absolutly amazing moment, I was shaking so bad and was soooooo nervous. I cant even begin to explain the over all excitment I had! It was SO amazing to get my "Joe hug". After that but before the show, I got to see Galen and give him a big ol hug for making all that possible and providing me with Club Joe pass.

The opening act came on, Ned played a few songs, then JOE!!!! OH MY GOD!!!! THE SHOW WAS INCREDDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There was SOOO much engery and excitment. I thought the sound was PERFECT! It wasnt to loud, and I was pretty close to a speaker! It was absolutly AMAZING!!!!!! at the oncore, I went up to the stage and ROCKED OUT!!!! I was jumping up and down, screaming, dancing, it was SO MUCH FUN!

At the end, Joe wished me happy birthday!!!! :).

JOE SATRIANI AND BAND- THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH FOR MAKING THIS THE MOST AMAZING YEAR EVER FOR ME!!!! YOU GUYS ARE SO INCREDDIBLE.

JOE SATRIANI- thank you for everything, and thank you for the birthday wish at the end.. that was so amazing! There was SO much emotion in all the songs! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE come back again next tour!

I have a TON of pictures!!!!!!!!!!!! I have to go through them and post.

Im off to bed but I will post more details tomorrow

THANK YOU JOE SATRIANI FOR AN UNFORGETABLE NIGHT!!!!!!!!!

I cant believe its already over, I want to do it again!!!!!!!!!!

funkwood

I too have lived with tinnitus since birth,having been born with perforated eardrums.mMy parents were told at the time that by the time i reached my early to mid teens I would be completely deaf.I had operations to see if they could graft the eardrums but it was unsuccessful.I managed to reach the age of 35 before my hearing really started to deteriorate.I have worn hearing aids for both ears since then.

At the age of five I started learning guitar,so my hearing was,and still is very important to me.However,I DO like my music loud.The bonus,if you can call it that, is that hearing aids have built in compressors that can be set to your needs,so volume levels can be generally kept to acceptable levels. I have been to a Satch concert and found no problems with volume,but I have also been to an Yngwie Malmsteen concert at the very same venue,and even with the aids switched off,I must say my ears were still ringing for 2-3 days afterwards.

Apart from that,I have never had a problem with loud music.And i STILL stand by the mantra: If it's too loud ,you're too old!!!! And i'm 47years old last December!!!! Cheers. :-)

BarackObama

*skip this if you don't care what's going on in the world*

A year ago, we introduced a new school curriculum, Civil Discourse in the Classroom and Beyond, with this urgent call: "There is a pressing need to change the tenor of public debate from shouts and slurs to something more reasoned."

The tragedy in Tucson this weekend reminds us that it's a call that politicians and pundits would do well to heed.

We may never get a clear picture of what was going through the confused mind of the Tucson gunman. But as my colleague Mark Potok explained on NPR this morning, with all the vitriol on the airwaves, it's not surprising that someone has taken deadly aim at an elected official.

Tea Party darlings like Sharron Angle talk about using "second amendment remedies" to change the course of the country. The shameless Glenn Beck feeds the lunatic fringe with talk of the government herding Americans into FEMA concentration camps and of imminent violence from mysterious forces "from the left." Sarah Palin uses phrases like "don't retreat, reload" and shows the districts of various Democrats in Congress, including that of Tucson's Gabrielle Giffords, in the crosshairs.

The problem isn't so much a lack of politeness. We should expect sharp elbows and a healthy degree of ridicule to be thrown around by those in the political arena. The problem is the incendiary rhetoric, with its violence-laced metaphors, and the spinning of paranoid fantasies. The problem is the non-stop demonization one hears from political opportunists trolling for votes and their media allies trolling for ratings.

The sheriff in Tucson put it this way: "When you look at unbalanced people — how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain people's mouths about tearing down the government — the anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous."

With six dead and 14 wounded, the sheriff would have been justified in using much stronger terms.

Politicians of both parties have condemned the attack and begun to ask themselves questions about the overheated rhetoric that may have contributed to it. Speaker Boehner has postponed the normal business of the House for the week so that he and his colleagues can reflect on what should be done.

Let us all hope that the week of reflection is more than a brief interlude in what has become a vicious political season.

Sincerely,

J. Richard Cohen President, Southern Poverty Law Center

This message is also available on the SPLC website.

In my opinion, the difference between a star and superstar is the way that a celebrity treats their fans. Everyone involved in the Kelowna, BC concert on January 6 is a superstar. Joe, his staff, the band, the crew, Dave Martone’s band, the fans and even the venue staff (including security - believe it or not) were great.

Even though the show was late to start by a couple of hours, it was well worth the wait.

The equipment truck was stuck for hours waiting for the Roger's pass to open up. I think the band was there, too, but I didn't hear that directly. For those of you in warmer climes, the highway from Calgary west through British Columbia goes through a mountain pass that often closes due to avalanches and snow control. Have a look at the Roger’s Pass camera: http://images.drivebc.ca/bchighwaycam/pub/html/www/index-SouthernInterior.html

I've been a Satch fan for almost 25 years (wow, I'm getting old) and still talk about his concert I went that I attended in the late '80s. Now my 10 year old daughter has taken an interest in his music so I was really excited to take her to the show.

We arrived at the venue 90 minutes before show time to find the crew still unloading the equipment truck! I thought for sure the show would be cut short, the crew would be testy, or the band would be a little off just because they’d be tired. If they were, it didn't show. I'm pretty sure they still did the meet and greet. The music was, as expected, incredible. The people around us were kind and considerate to my daughter -- Big thx to the guys that gave her the pick that Joe through into the crowd, it went to school for show and tell. Thanks to the guys in front of us who made sure she could see, I hope you get your big break and maybe open for Satch someday.

We didn't have meet and greet tix so we took our chances after the show and waited around in hopes of getting an autograph. We met two others doing the same – we even met the pizza delivery kid bringing super for the band. Thanks to the crew for chatting, thanks to security for being decent and to Joe's staff (personal assistant and road manager?) for inviting us in from the cold. Of course, thanks to Joe for taking a few minutes after a long day to shake hands and talk to us. It meant a lot to me and my daughter was thrilled. Because everyone treated us like real people instead of just a cash generating fans, the evening turned from another concert to a life time memory.

:-) Great stories peeps!

Thanks gus :). Words can not even describe how AMAZING it was! Honestly. The meeting with Joe was GREAT! I really LOVE listening to Joe talk, he is such a smart, cool, and passionate guy! Mick Brigden was super cool too! Got to talk to him a few times! Everyone in the band was SOOOOO cool! it was definietly the greatest night of my life!

I didt happen to capture a little bit of video. I got a little of each song but its only like 10 seconds worth of each song haha. I was to scared to record any, I caught my meet with Joe on video :D.

Best way to describe how I feel right now is I feel born again!!!

Just being with Joe, even for a minute, makes life infinitely better :) Good that you had a great experience K...now you know how the rest of us have felt for a long time!

Chad- Of course! LOL.

"MAKE MY EARS BLEED" LOL..... Joes response was funny! Then leads into Solitude and Little... SO GREAT!

So I just got done going through the pics on MY camera, i was fighting my camera alllll night and was bumed with how some turned out. If they werent so blurry, I would have gotten some AMAZING shots! Im getting them uploaded. I still have to go through my phone, and my friends camera! lol

I got a little bit of each song recorder, you can hear everyone around me screaming!! haha... these people next to me I think were drunk. lol..

ihatedoingscales - That's an awesome story! You and your daughter are so lucky! Also, Joe and his crew are even more awesome for being so incredibly kind and generous with their time :) I'm highly jealous of you!